This past week we further disgraced ourselves as a nation that has lost all dignity. The most incompetent Secretary of Defense in history, Pete Hegseth announced that Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan convicted of shooting and killing thirteen fellow soldiers and wounding thirty-two in Fort Hood Texas in 2009 will be publicly executed by firing squad. The announcement even surprised officials in the Pentagon. Hegseth made the announcement on the deck of the USS Lincoln that he allowed to stay out at sea for a grueling three hundred-thirty two days. He made the announcement to a right wing podcaster Jack Posobiec where he wouldn’t be questioned by reporters. When asked why a public execution Hegseth said, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch, that it’s public because they need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things.”

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I don’t think it has ever happen before in pro, college or high school football. Over the weekend, number one college football team Texas was playing at number seventeen Tennessee. Texas Edge Rusher Colin Simmons had five sacks. On one of the sacks, he brought down Tennessee’s freshman quarterback for a sixteen yard loss. It would have been fourth and twenty-nine. Then it happened. Simmons jumped up and pretended to unzip his pants and then simulated urinating on the field. The penalty flag came out. He was called for “Unsportsmanlike conduct for simulating using the restroom.”. The team broadcasting the game reacted immediately. Kirk Herbstreit said, “Just an absolute idiotic move by Colin Simmons doing that. He is suppose to be one of the leaders on defense. Play by play man Chris Fowler agreed calling the gesture “idiotic” and “it doesn’t get much more vulgar, either.”

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As I watched the 9/11 25th Commemoration and listened with tears in my eyes as family members read the names of family members killed, I then grew angry. Our self involved president wouldn’t come to the New York memorial because he wasn’t allowed to speak. It wasn’t about him. He wasn’t interested. He would go to the Pentagon ceremony because he was he allowed to speak. It gets worse. After the ceremony, Trump was flying to his golf course in Ireland for the weekend. The White House said it would be easier to fly to Ireland from Andrews Air Force base outside of Washington than flying out of a commercial airport in New York. The disrespect is stunning. It would be like Lincoln skipping Gettysburg because it he had something more fun to do.

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On the morning of September 11th, I was having breakfast listening to the news on the radio. Suddenly, there was a report of a small plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I immediately turned on the television and saw the second plane hit the second tower. I was the Executive Producer of the 11 o’clock news in Philadelphia at the time and I normally left for work in the early afternoon. My phone rang and the News Director said, “Do you see what’s happening?” I said, “I’m on my way.” We had never seen anything like this before in our country. This happened in other places, not here. This was an attack in the middle of our biggest, most important city aimed at our most iconic buildings on a bright sunny morning. It just got worse when we heard another plane hit the Pentagon and yet another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when passengers fought back against the terrorists. Nearly three thousand were killed including 343 firefighters and 71 police officers.

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Sailor Doris Miller woke up at 6am on December 7, 1941 aboard the USS West Virginia in Pearl Harbor. He served breakfast mess and was collecting laundry at 7:57am when a Japanese aircraft carrier fired seven torpedoes at the West Virginia. There was a call to battle stations. Dorie, as he was called, was assigned to help carry wounded sailors to safety. Miller and another sailor were ordered to the bridge to try and get the wounded captain to safety. The captain had been badly wounded and died from his wounds and was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Miller was then ordered to help two officers load two 50 caliber unmanned anti-aircraft machine guns. Miller wasn’t trained to operate the weapon . The officers just expected him to feed ammunition to one of the guns. Instead he started firing one of the guns until he ran out of ammunition. He was officially recognized with downing two Japanese planes. Some witnesses said it was more like four to six planes. Miller is credited with moving injured sailors through oil and water to the quarterdeck which the Navy said he was recognized for “unquestionably saving the lives of a number of people who might have otherwise have been lost.”

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The cleanest and cheapest energy is wind and solar power. The most expensive energy is from oil, gas and coal which are dirty and costly. There are companies that have invested billions of dollars and years of planning in partnership with federal agencies to develop wind power. Wind power alone would provide power for millions of homes. Guess who doesn’t like “windmills”? Of course, Donald Trump who wants to keep his donors in the fossil fuel business happy. One company RWE US is getting $1.22 billions dollars back from its investments with the government with the promise it will only invest it fossil fuel development. It’s working on a $900 million dollar investment in a liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana and $300 million in natural gas turbines. States which are losing offshore wind energy are suing.

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In the small Maine town of Biddeford there is a big dried red stain on the street. Spray painted next to it are the words, “This is Blood”. It was the scene of the second ICE ambush and killing in the last week. As usual, there are different versions of what actually happened. ICE agents were not wearing body cameras when they pulled over twenty-six year old Johan Sebastian Guerrero. It turns out he was not the intended target of the agents. He also had valid work authorization and a Social Security number. He was a food delivery driver with a partner and a three year old daughter. Neighbors described him as “a good person.” Once again, the ICE excuse was he was using his vehicle as a weapon to ram agents and get away. Eyewitnesses dispute that. The Department of Homeland Security issued new orders today halting traffic stops.

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We’re in the middle of a year long celebration of America at 250 years old. There are celebrations and events across the country marking the creation of one of the world’s greatest  experiments, a democratic government that answers to those who are governed. We grew into the country the world looked up to and counted on for help in times of need. We were always there, leading the world through world wars, helping those countries through natural disasters, famine, disease and helping them gain their own freedom. We’ve gone through our own terrible times, slavery, the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War I and II, the fight for civil rights, mistreatment of Native Americans, a presidential assassination, Vietnam, Watergate, 9/11 to name just a few.

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I don’t remember exactly when it started. Was it age related? Or was it something worse? I started blanking on people’s names. People I knew very well, friends and people I had worked with for many years. Even famous people like movie stars and ball players. I’d have to stop and concentrate to bring up the names in my brain. Most the time I would eventually remember, but sometimes I’d have go on line to remember some actor I was watching and their name would escape me. If I didn’t have an iPhone, I wouldn’t know anyone. Then I would have to think to remember if I did something like make a reservation. I was starting to drive my wife Maureen a little crazy. We would have a conversation about something and I would ask her questions about it days later to which she would politely reply that we had already talk about it. Politely became annoyed which I understand could drive people crazy.

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It started with the woman who almost never speaks in public. Suddenly, last Thursday Melania Trump walked out to a podium in the White House in her perfectly tailored suit and talked about the last thing her husband wants to hear about, Jeffery Epstein. She said, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.” It sounded like she was talking about her husband. She went on to say she had never been friends with Epstein. She said she and Trump were invited to the same parties as Epstein because he was in overlapping social circles. She was not an Epstein victim, never been on his plane or his private island and didn’t know he was a sexual predator. She said she has taken legal action against publications and individuals who she said spread unfounded and baseless lies. She called for congressional hearings for the Epstein’s victims. The address lasted only a few minutes then she turned around walked back inside.

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